


Light - Full Spectrum Edition

by PaulPower



Series: Game Breakers [1]
Category: Homestuck, MS Paint Adventures
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-08-15
Updated: 2010-08-15
Packaged: 2017-10-11 02:36:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/107427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaulPower/pseuds/PaulPower
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inspired by the song "Light" from Homestuck Volume 5.  John reads Rose's last FAQ entry, and decides that he'd rather join her on her quest to break the game than have her go off on her own.  John/Rose platonic - albeit with a twist at the end...</p><p>Written during the Hivebent arc, so now we've got back to the Kids it's starting to deviate from canon.  I guess I'll call it AU then.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Light - Full Spectrum Edition

EB: jade?  
GG: yes john???  
EB: i'm looking at your foyer right now  
EB: in particular the stuffed body of a man named "grandpa harley".  
EB: so, uh.  
EB: how come you never told me your grandpa died?  
GG: oh....  
GG: well.....  
GG: i didnt want to worry you!!  
EB: you didn't want to worry me.  
EB: did you told rose or dave?  
GG: umm... no ._.  
EB: i guess you didn't want to worry them either.  
EB: how long has it been?  
GG: about.... four years?  
EB: let me get this straight.  
EB: you've spent four years living on an island with only your dog for company.  
EB: and your only contact with other human beings in that time has been pesterchum and the odd letter.  
EB: well, and i guess trying to wake my dreamself up.  
EB: please give me a moment while i screw my brain back in.  
GG: john.....  
GG: you arent mad at me are you?  
EB: no.  
EB: i don't think i could be, really!  
EB: i'm pretty sad, though.  
GG: how come?  
EB: well, even if i didn't know you were my sister, you're still like my second cousin or something.  
EB: i mean as far as i know dad and i are the only living relatives you've got!  
EB: you could have come and lived with us.  
EB: or hey, if you didn't want to leave your island, we could have come and lived with you.  
EB: although i guess that'd be asking a lot of dad.  
GG: youd do that???  
EB: well, yeah!  
EB: but i didn't know about it, and now i just feel like i've let you down again.  
GG: ummm...  
GG: how do you mean?  
EB: oh jeez all sorts of stuff.  
EB: not being able to get your present and the server disk from dad's car before it was too late.  
EB: getting killed by that denizen in the alt timeline, leaving you dead and rose and dave stuck alone for four months.  
EB: not being able to wake up even when i could see the graffiti on the walls of my room, and if i'd woken earlier we could have both avoided being squashed by that moon.  
EB: connecting to you at like the eleventh hour and fifty-ninth minute, so that the only way out was for Bec to self-prototype and take the meteor out for us.  
GG: john.....  
GG: i dont want to put it like this but...  
GG: you can be a bit of an idiot sometimes!!!  
EB: yeah i know.  
GG: no i dont mean it like that!  
GG: i mean the way you beat yourself up about stuff and dont realise how much of a good friend you are!  
EB: huh?  
GG: youre my best friend!  
GG: and id guess that youre daves best friend and roses best friend too!  
EB: really?  
EB: i'd've thought dave and rose...  
GG: hehe yeah i know what you mean  
GG: i know they like each other really once you get past all the "insufferable prick" and "flighty broad" stuff  
GG: but im pretty sure rose finds it a lot easier to talk to you than she does to either me or dave  
GG: about parents and stuff  
GG: and even though dave tries to hide it you make quite an impression on him!  
GG: what with ben stillers' shades and the apple juice!  
EB: i'd ask how you know about all this but i guess i know how you know now.  
EB: ugh, tongue twister.  
GG: hehe yeah!  
GG: and anyway most of that stuff wasnt your fault  
GG: you werent to know!  
GG: and the bits that were your fault kind of had to happen anyway!  
GG: what really matters is that you tried and that you keep trying!  
EB: ... thanks jade.  
EB: it's just been a weird day.  
EB: i guess you guys rely on me just as much as i rely on you.  
EB: and even though i think you're all way cooler than me, you think i'm pretty cool too.  
GG: :D  
EB: anyway, are you sure you're alright with all this?  
GG: john i know youre worried about how i coped all those years on my own  
GG: but i wasnt on my own!  
GG: i had you guys!!!  
GG: and it doesnt matter that it was text on a screen  
GG: you all more than made up for that  
EB: aw, shucks.  
EB: either way though, we need to arrange a meet-up.  
EB: i know orange dave said we had to coordinate on this whole round-robin business but i think that went out the window when the game decided we'd got less than a day to beat it.  
EB: if we can't see each other in our dreams we can sure as hell see each other in reality.  
GG: thats the spirit!!!  
EB: by the way, do you want me to try prototyping with your grandpa?  
GG: sure!  
GG: ill call bec over  
EB: righto  
GG: ok here he is  
EB: damn he keeps dodging when i try to drop your grandpa into him.  
GG: yeah bec what are you doing??  
EB: now i think about it, i remember my harlequin sprite doing something similar when i tried to prototype with things that weren't nanna.  
GG: maybe he wants something else?  
EB: maybe.  
EB: i guess we'll work it out later.  
EB: will you be ok for a few minutes?  
EB: i should really catch up with rose and dave.  
EB: so much stuff i need to get them up to speed on.  
GG: ok!  
GG: but john...  
EB: yes?  
GG: when you talk to them, try and remember what i said here  
GG: about remembering that we all think you're a good friend and not to beat yourself up about stuff  
EB: ok, i'll do my best!  
GG: besides i get the feeling rose especially might need you to give her some emotional support right now.  
EB: did you see her in clouds back when your dreamself was alive?  
GG: not this time! i have another source!  
GG: besides i just have this general feeling...  
GG: the games going all wrong and she doesnt know why...  
GG: and well shes got her own issues that need dealing with!  
GG: and i think you might be the guy to help her out!  
EB: all right, i will friend her as hard as i can.  
EB: but can i give you some advice as well?  
EB: i'm not going to tell rose or dave about your grandpa.  
EB: but i think you should.  
EB: we don't really want dave showing up out of your gate 2 and going "well hey who's this fine corpse".  
GG: lol i guess not!  
EB: ok, see you in a bit.  
GG: &lt;3

*    *    *

EB: hi rose!  
EB: rose?  
TT: GA put you up to this, didn't she?  
EB: umm... no?  
EB: i just thought, "well, it's been a while since i talked to rose and i've got a lot to catch up on with her" so here i am!  
TT: Oh.  Ok.  
EB: why did you think that GA sent me?  
TT: I believe she's been trying to give me psychotherapy.  
EB: now that's just silly!  
EB: no-one could beat you in a psycho-therapify-off.  
EB: you're simply the best there is.  
EB: oh wait, wasn't she the one i talked to when i was pretending to be you?  
TT: Ha. Yes, she was.  
TT: You confused her considerably when you did that.  
TT: Well done.  
EB: yeah, i think i'm getting the hang of some of these trolls now.  
EB: take CG.  
EB: he's a bit intimidating at first.  
EB: but once you realise he's just an angry guy who talks backwards in time, he's not that hard to deal with!  
EB: wow that sounds so weird out of context.  
EB: anyway, sorry i didn't stick around until you woke up, and also sorry i've been kinda quiet lately.  
EB: i feel like i've been on some magical tour of self-discovery for the past few hours.  
EB: probably because i have been.  
TT: Sounds like you've been busy.  
EB: yeah!  
EB: only just finished getting jade into the medium.  
EB: good job bec was around to blow up the meteor for us, it'd've been really close otherwise!  
EB: then before that i was asleep.  
TT: Your dreamself woke up?  
EB: yeah.  
EB: i didn't know what was going on at first, but jade explained it all to me in her birthday letter.  
EB: although i really, really wish she'd explained it all to me before now.  
EB: because...  
TT: Because what?  
EB: i'm not sure how to put this...  
TT: Spit it out, John.  
EB: ... ok.  
EB: jade's dreamself is dead.  
TT: Oh.  
TT: I... well, I don't know what to say.  
EB: yeah, tell me about it.  
EB: she was so excited in her letter about getting to meet me in her dreams and now...  
EB: :(  
TT: Is Jade ok?  
EB: i don't know exactly.  
EB: i think she's kind of scared about how she'll cope without skaia visions to tell her what she needs to do next.  
EB: but she's putting a really brave face on it, and i reckon she'll pull through.  
EB: i mean, at the end of the day she's still jade.  
EB: seriously, first thing she wanted to know was if MY dreamself was ok!  
TT: That's... touching.  
TT: Is he ok?  Sorry, I mean: are you ok?  
TT: This dreamself business is somewhat messy grammatically.  
EB: i think so.  
EB: i had a close run-in with jack noir, but jade's present saved me!  
TT: Jack who?  
EB: oh right, you don't know about him yet.  
EB: urgh there's so much stuff to explain.  
EB: maybe i should write another thing for the walkthrough.  
EB: how's that coming along, anyway?  
TT: Ah.  
TT: I gave up on that, actually.  
EB: shame, i was finding it really handy!  
EB: ok it's like the complete wordy memoirs of wordy mcwordwriter, but it's still got some good stuff in it.  
TT: Did you read my last entry?  
EB: not yet.  
TT: It's rather important.  
EB: ok, give me a minute.

*    *    *

EB: well.  
EB: ... ok.  
EB: rose, are you absolutely sure this is a good idea?  
TT: No.  
TT: I'm not absolutely sure anything's a good idea right now.  
EB: fair enough.  
TT: Doesn't it bother you, John?  
TT: What's all this for?  
TT: Why did humanity need to be destroyed?  
TT: Why are we here?  
EB: i dunno really.  
EB: it is pretty weird.  
EB: but y'know what?  
EB: i think american sports legend charles barkley put it best.  
EB: "we're here to help each other through this thing, whatever it is."  
TT: Ha.  I'd forgotten that one.  
TT: So basically you're saying we're all in this together?  
EB: well yeah!  
EB: that's what friends are for, right?  
TT: You want me to rejoin the team, as it were?  
TT: Go back to playing the game by the rules with the three of you?  
EB: hey, i never said anything about playing by the rules.  
EB: i think the rulebook got thrown out the window a while back.  
EB: and if we can't beat the game together, we may as well break it together.  
TT: You want to help me with this?  
EB: sure.  
TT: Dave and Jade too?  
EB: well i haven't asked them yet, but i think they'll agree.  
EB: i think jade feels kinda cheated by the game right now anyway.  
EB: from the sound of it she's been exploiting skaia visions and stable time loops for years.  
EB: and dave only started playing to save us all from the meteors.  
EB: seriously rose, until you blew that gate up you were probably the one playing most correctly!  
TT: You aren't worried about what might happen?  
EB: are you?  
TT: ... Yes.  
TT: That's why I wanted to go it alone.  
TT: I feel like I'm about to descend a very dark path, John.  
TT: I don't want to drag you down it.  
TT: Or Dave or Jade, for that matter.  
EB: see, that's exactly why we need to stick together.  
EB: this dark path thing will be a lot less dark with the four of us.  
TT: All shining our metaphorical torches of friendship at once?  
EB: something like that.  
EB: we really need to meet up once jade's got some items alchemitised, anyway.  
EB: from the sound of it i need to take all of you out behind the woodshed and give you all big hugs!  
EB: well, a hug bump in dave's case.  
TT: We're doing it, man?  
EB: where MAKING THIS HAPEN.  
EB: besides, how dark's it going to get if we've got the seer of light on our side?  
TT: I must admit, that title seems rather ironic now.  
EB: i don't know, rose.  
EB: you're a better person than you think you are.  
TT: Seriously?  
EB: said it when i sent you your birthday present, still say it now.  
EB: only with fewer jokes about wet t-shirt contests this time!  
TT: Thanks, John.  
TT: Saying things like that makes me want to be that better person.  
EB: hehe, don't mention it!  
EB: i'd better check up on jade and dave and see how they're getting on.  
EB: and ask them if they'd be happy to team up on this game-breaking thing.  
EB: then maybe i'll get to finish telling you what i've been up to!

*    *    *

EB: jade, have you read rose's walkthrough lately?  
GG: hang on let me just check...  
GG: which bit??  
EB: section zzzz

GG: .... oh...  
EB: yeah.  
GG: i feel bad for her....  
GG: she was really trying to play this properly, and i messed it all up!!!  
EB: yeah, even dropping my dad's car off a cliff was more down to her sucky internet connection than anything she did wrong.  
GG: what are you going to do??  
EB: well to be honest i already made my mind up while i was talking to her just now.  
EB: i want to help her with this.  
GG: really???  
EB: yeah.  
EB: i don't think we're going to talk her out of it.  
EB: and i'd rather be there to keep an eye on her than have her going off on her own.  
GG: yeah i see what you mean....  
GG: we need to stick together!  
EB: plus this session's already pretty broken, so what's a few more cracks?  
GG: hehe yeah  
GG: and i kinda feel like ive been betrayed by the game anyway....  
GG: so ok i think ill help out too!!  
EB: i was hoping you'd say that :)  
EB: i think i'd better talk to dave now, can't leave him out of the loop!

*    *    *

EB: hey dave, how are the crocodiles?  
TG: well theyre  
TG: wait how do you know about them  
TG: did GC tell you  
TG: or did jade see it while she was dreaming or something  
EB: actually, no, this one was all me!  
TG: oh i get it your dreamself finally woke up  
TG: well i say finally  
TG: i only woke up because rose yarn bonked me  
TG: and she only woke up because of future dreamself shenanigans  
EB: wait... "yarn bonked"?  
TG: she threw a ball of wool at me  
TG: wash your mind out with soap at once young man  
EB: um... ok.  
TG: but yeah if all this had played out normally maybe youd have woken up before either of us  
TG: although maybe not before me i still dont get this whole deal with my dreamself already being awake but not knowing it  
TG: you might have woken up before rose though  
TG: according to future me it took her forever  
TG: but yeah i bet jades so proud of you or something  
EB: ... yeah, she is.  
EB: although i never got to meet her in-dream-person...  
TG: dude are you kidding me shes like asleep half the time how did you miss her  
EB: by her being dead, mostly.  
TG: wait  
TG: jades dead?  
TG: shit egbert what did you do this time  
TG: i guess id better get my timetables  
EB: no, no, jade's ok!  
EB: i even got her into the medium, although not without a certain amount of shenanigans.  
TG: ok  
EB: it's dream jade.  
EB: she kind of got squashed when prospit's moon slammed into skaia.  
EB: she died pushing my still-sleeping dreamself out of the way of it :'[b][/b](  
EB: i think the impact was what woke me.  
TG: ouch  
TG: you know you could probably stop that  
TG: if you go to sleep and i travel back in time your dreamself should wake earlier like roses did  
TG: and then you can both get out of the way  
EB: yeah but i think it'd be a bad idea.  
EB: real me kind of needed to be awake at that point because i was creating a bunch of paradox babies and sending them off on meteors so that we could all get born.  
TG: you come out with the weirdest shit sometimes  
TG: speaking of which what was prospits moon doing hitting skaia anyway  
EB: well i'm not entirely sure.  
EB: but i think its the fault of this guy called jack noir.  
EB: it's a long story, but basically he's overthrown the black king and queen and has decided to start the endgame early.  
EB: which consists of chucking meteors at skaia while we get 24 hours to stop him.  
TG: 24 hours  
TG: geez future me spent like four months in that other timeline and he still didnt get done with the game  
TG: and hes me and im awesome so that was probably like record time  
TG: so whatre we going to get done in 24 hours  
EB: well, thats a vey good question.  
EB: see at this point i need you to read a bit of rose's walkthrough.  
EB: section zzzz.  
TG: man do i have to  
TG: reading that thing MAKES me zzzz  
EB: it's important.  
TG: ok ok get off my back jesus

*    *    *

TG: huh  
EB: yeah.  
TG: yeah she did act pretty psycho after you left  
TG: nice timing by the way genius  
TG: she was looking forward to meeting you  
EB: i know, i know, i'm going to make it up to her, i've got a plan.  
TG: this is new  
TG: so whats the plan  
EB: we join her.  
TG: hmm  
TG: you really think its a good idea?  
EB: i don't think there are any good ideas right now, dave.  
EB: this is the least bad idea.  
EB: i'd rather we all work together on breaking this thing than have rose go off on her own and we don't know if she's going to be ok or not.  
EB: i've already got jade to agree, we just need you.  
TG: this is just great  
TG: first you three badger and pester me into playing this game when i dont want to  
TG: and then once im getting the hang of it and starting to enjoy myself a bit you all change your minds and want to break the fucker  
TG: first class irony right there  
TG: bro would be so proud  
TG: handing out rosettes for best in show  
TG: first place goes to john egbert rose lalonde and jade harley for their outstanding efforts in trolling dave strider  
EB: hey, you're still alive, that's better than most people!  
TG: i guess  
TG: ok i think youve got a point  
TG: if shit just got real with this jack noir business then we may as well hack this game to pieces  
EB: thanks dave, you're the best.  
TG: wait hold on a sec  
TG: this jack noir  
TG: is he black with wings and tentacles and a weird spiky growth on his head?  
EB: yeah, he threatened me while i was dreaming but jade's present scared him off!  
TG: oh hey cool you got it then  
TG: but thats not the point  
TG: i think i see him flying around up in the sky  
EB: oh nooooooo.  
TG: oh yeeeaaah  
TG: looks like id better get a move on  
TG: GC gave me a map to gate 2 as well so i guess id better head off there asap  
TG: turns out shes not actually that bad although shes still kinda annoying with her whole D4V3 1S TH1S YOU thing  
TG: its weird i think she genuinely wants to make up for killing you  
TG: maybe in a crazy branching timeline sort of way you were right to trust her  
TG: but yeah later dude  
EB: good luck, dave.

*    *    *

EB: rose?  
TT: Yes John?  
EB: i've got good news and i've got bad news.  
EB: the good news is that i got jade and dave to agree to this whole game-breaking venture!  
TT: ... Thanks.  
TT: I still don't know whether it's for the best to involve you three in this, but... thanks.  
TT: And nice work.  
EB: aww, that's ok.  
TT: So what's the bad news?  
EB: dave said he spotted jack noir flying around on his planet.  
EB: somehow i don't think this counts as good news.  
TT: No, it doesn't sound like it.  
TT: You still haven't properly explained this Jack Noir fellow to me, but I will take it as read that he's bad news.  
TT: The last thing we need is the Knight of Time getting taken out.  
TT: Is there anything I can do?  
EB: i don't know.  
EB: i guess you could find your gate 2 and join him.  
EB: but he says he's going to get to his gate 2 as quick as he can so you'd probably just miss each other!  
TT: That seems to be happening a lot to me lately.  
EB: yeah, i know, and those big hugs are still on the agenda but first we've got to make sure dave's safe.  
EB: i'd better build jade's house up to her second gate so he doesn't take a fall or something when he goes through it.  
TT: Ok.  
TT: Perhaps in the meantime I should experiment more with the game's boundaries.  
EB: sure i guess, but keep us posted!  
TT: Will do.  
TT: Thanks again, John.  You're a good friend.  
EB: well, you know... i try...  
EB: oh yeah, that reminds me, i've got a story to finish telling haven't I?  
TT: You certainly have...

*    *    *

CG: YOU LYING WITCH.  
CG: YOU READ ROSE'S LAST WALKTHROUGH ENTRY AGES AGO.  
CG: YOUR "OTHER SOURCE" AS IT WERE.  
GG: that wasnt a lie!!  
CG: YEAH RIGHT.  
CG: YOU DON'T LIE BUT YOU DO HIDE THE TRUTH.  
CG: "HANG ON LET ME JUST CHECK" INDEED.  
GG: yeah ok i guess that was a bit sneaky...  
GG: but i thought itd be best if he found out for himself!!!  
GG: that way his reaction to reading it was completely his own...  
GG: and made it more.... spontaneous?? honest???  
GG: more john-like i guess.....  
GG: so rose'd be more likely to open up to him...  
CG: YOU MACHIAVELLIAN MATCHMAKING MINX.  
CG: YOU REALISE YOU'VE SENT THOSE TWO CAREERING OFF DEEP INTO MOIRAIL TERRITORY.  
GG: hehe yes!!  
GG: if not further!!!  
CG: WHAT.  
GG: oh come on karkat!!!  
GG: whatever john might have told you human relationships arent any less complex than troll ones!  
GG: they're just less... rigid!  
CG: I THOUGHT YOU AND JOHN WERE BEST PUPA PALS FOR LIFE OR SOMETHING.  
GG: well yeah he's my best friend and i really really like him but not in that way!  
GG: besides hes also my brother!!!  
GG: it just wouldnt be right...  
CG: SPEAKING AS SOMEONE WHOSE SPECIES REPRODUCES IN ONE DIABOLICAL INCESTUOUS SLURRY, NO COMMENT.  
GG: well either way rose needs him more than i do...  
GG: and i think he needs rose more than he does me as well...  
GG: this will help him far more than any amount of people telling him how proud they are or how much they believe in him!!!  
CG: HMM.  
CG: MAYBE YOU'RE RIGHT.  
CG: SO WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO NOW?  
CG: GO THROUGH YOUR FIRST GATE?  
GG: not just yet!!!  
GG: dave should be on his way soon...  
GG: i wouldnt want to miss him!!

**Author's Note:**

> The song "Light" uses instruments and a main melody that seems very Rose/LoLaR-themed (not to mention Rose being the Seer of Light), but it has a bridge based around the piano version of Showtime, John's theme. Put the two together and you get a song perfect for writing something focused on John and Rose.
> 
> The original "Light" was just the second and third sections with John talking to Rose, but then got expanded with the initial chat between John and Jade, before having the later conversations added as well. All this together gives "Light - Full Spectrum Edition" (Perhaps I should call the original "Visible Light"? ;) ).
> 
> The twist ending with the whole thing being a cunning ruse by Jade to get John and Rose together was a bit of an afterthought, but once I had the idea for it it was too good to leave out. It also seemed like a very Jade thing to do, as she can be quite the manipulator - albeit one with the best intentions, whose primary trick is to appeal to people's better natures. I threw in some callbacks to Kanaya and Terezi to help strengthen that idea.
> 
> I'm not exactly someone comfortable with writing shippy stuff, especially with kids, which is why I've tried to keep it as toned down as I can - Karkat's likening of John and Rose to moirails (with, in a funny sort of way, *both* acting as the stabiliser for each other) at the end was pretty deliberate in that sense. But saying that, it's open-ended: you can read as much into it as you like, and who knows where they'll end up?
> 
> As a side note, if anyone knows how to get AO3's red and blue colours to work, I'd be grateful if they could leave a comment telling me how. Pesterlogs just aren't the same in monochrome.
> 
> e: Actually DocBeard made what I thought was a nice comment over on the MSPA forums:
> 
> "Paul: Nice use of the conspiracy theory angle. The twist ending is in character; Jade is reinforcing her, "humans are not trolls." point to Karkat, which is important for Karkat to do his side of the work. He is perhaps the troll closest to understanding human beings and the most reluctant to further that understanding because of his misanthropy. Yeah, it could be read as "lol matchmaker" but I think Jade's point as you write it is more, "John needs someone to help in order to have his shit together. Rose needs someone to watch her back when she dives into crazy town. If I told John about what was going on, he'd flip and Rose would retreat into herself. He had to stumble on it naturally."
> 
> Whether this is true or not depends on how insightful you think Jade is."
> 
> Actually that's pretty reassuring. Saying that, I'd better leave the T rating in given Dave's gratuitous swearing.


End file.
